The Sunday Times – 75 Best Places to Work in the Public Sector

March 11th 7.00pm
The Plaza RiverBank, Albert Embankment, London

Wendy and I left Evesham by train, in the company of MD Jack Hegarty and Phil Childs. Phil had entered a free draw to be the member of staff to represent all WDC staff at this prestigious event. Last year the competition was between all councils in the UK and WDC came first. A magnificent achievement. This year the competition was wider and included all organisations in the public sector. So we were up against police forces, NHS trusts, the criminal records office, educational bodies, in fact any organisation publicly funded. This ceremony included the top 75 in the country, so just to be invited was a fabulous feather in our cap.

We stayed at the Premier Inn, which was very comfortable and close to the Park Plaza Riverbank.

The hotel is in the old GLC building and the London Eye was a few minutes walk.

We had a couple of hours before we needed to get ready for the big night so we decided to go for a flight.

Although the weather was overcast, the views across London were spectacular.

Buckingham Palace

And so to the big night.

Bill Turnbull, of BBC Breakfast fame, compared the ceremony. Other speeches were from, Richard Caseby, Managing Editor, The Sunday Times and Jonathan Austin Founder and CEO of Best Companies Ltd.

Jack and Phil proudly hold the award aloft. Of the 75 organisations represented WDC came in 16th and of the 20 councils making it into the top 75 places WDC came second, only being beaten by Sevenoaks Council. That is some achievement. Effectively 1st and 2nd among the councils in consecutive years.
This is what the paper said:-

IT’S TOUGH AT the top but when the person at the helm is setting such a good example, staff tend to find their job is that much easier. Employees say that the man at the top of Wychavon District Council — managing director Jack Hegarty — is an inspiration (74% positive) and they have a great deal of faith in him (78%). These are both top scores for mid-sized organisations in our list. The Worcestershire council, The Times Best Councils to Work For winner in 2008, was the first to build its own hospital and has won national awards for its housing services and public toilets. Hegarty says the key to Wychavon’s accomplishments is involving its 289 employees. “It’s not about policies, procedures or tick boxes, it’s about a shared way of working — a culture — that recognises and celebrates success, communicates clearly, and explains the hard choices.” Staff at just seven organisations returned higher scores for Leadership. They back the skills of the senior management team (66%) and say Hegarty leads the council on sound principles (77%). A 61% positive score for all Fair Deal questions ranks Wychavon 14th among all public sector bodies and staff also say it does its bit for the community (63%, the third highest result) and the environment (68%).Sunday Times websiteBest Companies to Work For website